Decorating Mindset: Right Brain Thinking Helps Style a Home

Do you have the right decorating mindset to style a home? No matter where you are in the homeownership process it’s important to focus your perceptions so your home is the most appealing on the block. Every homeowner, especially those selling, must become successful at creating first impressions. This step allows you to develop a good sense of what your audience (buyer or guest) wants, and what it takes to ensure that you stand out in their minds well after visiting your property.

Think of your open house or dinner party as if it’s opening night for your favorite show. The stars would be walking the red carpet, dressed to impress, promoting the show and creating excitement and buzz—that’s what staging does to your home when selling (or staying).

The Decorating Mindset

A buyer’s gut reaction never goes away, so make sure to critique each area of your home or recruit a judgmental friend who can help answer these questions.

What will the cohesive style be throughout the home?

Where will furniture and accessories be placed or removed?

This will take some visual thinking, which can be difficult for some homeowners who are left-brain thinkers. Most people are more left-brain driven, using organizational and logical skills to conquer a task at hand. The right-brain thinkers, however, use their creative ability and function—particularly shape recognition—to assess the world. That’s why some homeowners can visualize the potential of a space while others have a hard time figuring out how to arrange the furniture or what accessories go together.

When thinking about how you’re going to transform your space, tap into your right-brain thinking to create a cohesiveness throughout the entire space. You can’t just hang a picture on a wall because the wall is empty; the picture should be generic enough to appeal to either your theme or for all types of people. It has to match the color scheme and be in proportion to the rest of the items in the space. Watch this video to learn more about how you can tap into your right brain.

How to Become a Right Brain Thinker

Through the power of your own imagination, you can visualize your new room here is how:

Make a list of what typically goes into that room. (An entryway, for example usually has a table, a table lamp, a mirror and/or artwork, a place to sit, and storage for shoes and coats.)

Next, write down where each of those items would go in the room.

Be as specific as possible.

Try to capture the feeling you want the buyer to have when they walk through this room.

Involve as many emotions, feelings, and the five senses as possible.

Then go through what is already in that room and around your house. (Can you reuse what you have to satisfy the items on the list?)

If you can, jot that in your notes.

If you’re going to need to rent or buy a piece, start a separate shopping list.

Stephen R. Covey (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)writes about tapping into the right brain daily to change a behavior. Setting up your home and maintaining it are two different things. You can’t just set it up and expect this singular experience to change the outcome of your life. You’re going to need to maintain the space, and that requires using your “right brain power of visualization to write an affirmation that will help [you] become more congruent” with your goal of selling or decorating your home.

How to use affirmations to visualize the perception you want to create “A good affirmation has five basic ingredients:”

Needs to be personal.

Should be positive.

Requires present tense.

It’s visual.

Has to be emotional.

Grab a your very own right brain thinker worksheet to create your own powerful affirmation that will change your life! It’s FREE.